No sign of a let up as an awkward autumn continues abound with a daunting looking trip to the Etihad

As many of you might have twigged, I view all events Norwich City with a pretty distant lens these days.

Gone are the days when it was a 24/7 occupation.

Which, might, lend a little bit of perspective to the state of the Canary Nation; or, by the same token, it might make for an all-too dispassionate view of the debates surrounding the football club.

Which will have only be stirred again by the 0-0 draw with Cardiff.

One of those games that most would have had down as a ‘must win’. And it wasn’t – however hard Norwich huffed and puffed to blow David Marshall’s goal down.

More shots on and off target than any other Premier League club this season; or some such stat I read afterwards as one camp insisted that it was not a lack of attacking intent or ambition that Chris Hughton’s team lacked.

It was just the final execution; once anyone saw the whites of the keeper’s eyes, their effort either went straight down his throat – or flew just high and wide.

Which is true. And there will be other days when one of those 31 efforts will go a foot to the right or the left and Norwich would be two points better off and nestled in amid that mid-table ruck of clubs – all of whom are already banking on Sunderland and Crystal Palace being this season’s no-hopers.

A fond hope that the Black Cats stuck two fingers up at with the derby win over Newcastle.

A trip to the Etihad this weekend is unlikely to provide much by way of immediate relief; that gulf is only widening.

The trip to The Emirates proved that point; what you get for £8 mill is as nothing to what you can get for £42 mill.

But somewhere in the good ship Canary, something is not quite clicking and if history tells us anything, division and poison can make for a long, hard and uneasy campaign – evident when players take to the Twitter air-waves questioning the negative reaction that followed the final whistle against the Bluebirds.

The punters were banking on three points. Judgement was being aired.

For me, the problem lies at the very tip of the team. The two, big money buys – Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Gary Hooper – have yet to deliver.

One claim, clearly, is that neither has been handed the kind of service required.

And there is that lovely line about Robert Earnshaw that someone once delivered; that all Earnie ever did was score goals…

Point being that there’s more to being a decent striker than scoring goals.

Hooper, in fairness, put a shift in; he put himself about. But there has to be an end product.

And here we get to the difference between an £8 million striker and a £42 million one; the latter has the ability to make his own chances. Out of nothing. He doesn’t need service. He makes his own.

And Norwich – even now – haven’t got the financial ability to buy into that level of player.

But there is an expectation on such players that they will; this is the most that Norwich City Football Club have ever spent on a professional footballer; they are, therefore, expected to deliver.

The other trouble is that one side will swiftly use a lack of form or confidence of those two, principal strikers as a stick to beat the manager with.

He brought them in, at big expense (relatively) and much fanfare – it is his fault that neither have yet to hit the heights expected of them.

That is always going to be a manager’s lot, but – as there was in the fag end days of Nigel Worthington – there appears to be a hard core of supporters who will never be convinced.

From having a manager who could do no wrong (Lambert), we now have a manager who – for some – can do no right.

And as long as luck and results continue to elude him, so that vocal minority will continue to gather support.

And it seeps into the system; that division. And divided clubs tend to be those that under-achieve – particularly if manager and dressing room start to believe they are under siege.

Players tend not to be at their expressive best if they feel every touch and decision is under such a microscope.

It’s not easy. And I’m not about to throw any easy answers into the debate. There aren’t any. Only more risks.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Thoughtful article as always, Rick. However – the answer is simple. It won’t happen, but it is simple. And that is for the growing, sizeable(?) minority that is against Hughton to wake up, smell the coffee, and get to grips with the fact that there is no alternative. This is the only game in town.

As you point out, the division that these (less than?) worthy souls are fomenting will only damage the club, by demotivating and undermining the confidence of the squad and the management team.

Sometimes we just have to knuckle down and support – albeit through gritted teeth.

Being ‘a good manager’ is not something that all football managers can replicate at every club they go to: witness Martin O’Neil at Sunderland;Fergie at the start of his tenure at Man U; AVB at Chelsea.

Sometimes -as in any other business – it takes time for a manager to get to grips with a given club. That could well be the case with Hoots and NCFC. If those with a yellow stripe down their back – as opposed to on their strip – don’t have the stomach for it, their negativity may result in far more damage done to the club than giving the guy the time needed to get his feet properly under the manager’s desk.

Good piece Rick. I just wish some fans would look at our position with a little more perspective. We are 3 points off 9th place and 4 points from Sunderland below us. Performances in the league have been promising of late too.

A lot of fans point to Hughton’s record since Xmas, which to me is a completely pointless argument. I could look at his record since he started, 11th place finish but it doesn’t matter. All that counts is this season and so far and our perfomances haven’t achieved the points they deserved. Who could argue with that?

We should be completely united behind our team, win, lose or draw. If it comes to the point where we need a change, I’m 100% certain that McNally will make that decision.

I’m asking all the negativity to stop because you are not helping the club you supposedly love. At the end of the day, we want it to thrive. This will only happen if you back the team.

Good article Rick but I question how much any Of Hughton’s ‘outers’, of which I have to confess I am turning into, actually matter to the only issue that really counts… Getting results on the pitch. In my view all the in or out debate is academic, message board gossip. If we start to actually find some form and some attacking fluency that has been missing in the main for the last year, then it will mostly stop.

Hughton won’t ever win over the doubters. Not now. And if there is a division that will only end with a change in manager. I desperately want CH to work out, but I think he might now have too much against him.

I hate that term “must win game”, and said as much to everyone who trawled it out to me before Cardiff. We didn’t win the ‘must win’ game, so obviously we can write off the next 29. Season over!
The debate about CH’s position is premature, short-sighted and illogical in my view. Give the guy credit for the 11th place, and time build a new team.
As for the strikers, they need time too. Maybe some fans needed reminding how good Grant Holt was for us, but also let’s not forget that both him and Paul Lambert had 2 years in lower leagues to bed in at City before hitting the Prem, still one of the toughest leagues in the world.

The biggest thing that concerns me right now, above the league table or lack of goals, is the way our manager’s position is now being questioned in the national media. They smell blood. Its irresponsible, unwarranted and disruptive.

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